That hot cup of milk your grandmother gave you before bed may have been a powerful sleep medicine after all.

While a staggering 30 percent of Americans suffer from chronic insomnia (1), few realize that chronic insomnia can increase the risk of most degenerative diseases (2).

Experts link rising stress levels and elevated cortisol (a hormone released in response to stress) to the rapidly increasing number of cases of insomnia. The problem is compounded when the lack of sleep causes more stress, which again raises cortisol levels, which further disturbs sleep patterns.

Researchers have found that when bioactive peptides in milk are taken before bed, the improvements in sleep are remarkable (3-5):

Ancient Remedy (Validated by Science)

Grandma’s hot milk before bed was scientifically validated for the first time back in the 1930s when milk and cornflakes were shown to deliver a better night’s sleep. In 1997, research done on newborns demonstrated that infants given milk had improved sleep beyond the benefits of nursing and being held.

The benefits of hot milk before bed was not only an Ayurvedic sleep remedy. In Europe, the benefits were widely known and well researched. Certain peptides, or proteins, in milk have been shown to activate the brain’s GABA receptors (4).

Drugs that activate GABA receptors are known as benzodiazepines and are widely used as sedatives for stress, anxiety and sleep (6).

In one study, 32 healthy men were given just 150 mg of these milk proteins, and in just two weeks their sleep quality improved by 50 percent (7).

In another study, over 60 women who were complaining of a host of stress-related problems, such as digestion, cardiovascular, emotional, cognitive and social disorders, were given 150 mg of the milk proteins before bed. The benefits ranged from 50 to 60 percent improvement in all of the disorders listed (8).

The Deadly Effects of Chronic Insomnia

When the body is chronically denied sleep, stress hormones, like cortisol, steadily rise. We evolved to boost stress when being chased by a lion, tiger or bear, which hopefully ended quickly when one found safety.

Today’s stress levels are 24/7, with little end in sight for many folks. Such chronic stress has a direct impact on sleep. According to a 2001 scientific poll, 38 percent of Americans received a solid eight hours of sleep. In 2009, that number was reduced to just 28 percent.

Sleep is so important for good health that one landmark study linked getting seven to eight hours of regular sleep each night to a reduction in mortality from all causes (9).

What’s worse is that people suffering from chronic insomnia were also shown to be at risk for numerous health disorders such as:

Ayurveda’s Super Sleep Recipe

Drinking hot milk before bed has been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic medicine for benefits that reached well beyond sleep. Albeit much different from today’s chronic stress levels, stress was still a health issue even back then.

According to Ayurveda, chronic or excessive stress would deplete a precious substance in the body called ojas. Ojas is said to be the physiological expression of consciousness, in charge of immunity, reproduction, beauty, and the overall health and well-being of the individual.

Ojas takes 30 days to be manufactured in the body, and is the result of numerous enzymatic actions that start with the digesting of food into the body’s lymph, blood, muscle, fat, bone, nerve and reproductive tissues. Once these tissues are successfully made and deemed healthy by the body, the final product, or essence, of all these tissues—ojas—is produced.

When ojas is depleted, either from stress, lack of sleep, bad food, poor digestion, excessive activity or inactivity, the body breaks down fast. Folks with depleted ojas are exhausted, can’t sleep, have no sexual desire, have dry wrinkled skin, stiff joints, accelerated aging and are predisposed to disease.

In Ayurveda, there are certain foods and herbs that are specific to building ojas, and it all starts with milk. Now, I realize milk is a controversial issue, but nonetheless, it has well-documented properties to mitigate numerous stress markers, support sleep, and build what Ayurveda calls ojas.

The major problem with today’s milk is that it is very difficult to digest. Here’s why:

Most healthy grocery stores sell non-homogenized, vat pasteurized milk that is free of chemicals, antibiotics and hormones. While raw milk may be the best, vat pasteurization is a slow and safe heating process of the milk at lower temperatures (135 degrees for 20 minutes) that doesn’t damage the milk proteins.

Many folks who consider themselves lactose intolerant can enjoy milk once again if the milk is not commercially processed and the digestion is strong.

3. Once the milk, herbs, and ojas-building foods and spices are cooked and off the flame, add 1 tsp of ojas-building raw honey.

Drink one cup of the ojas-building hot milk each night for 3 months to rebuild ojas levels and support sleep patterns.

Don’t drink milk?

You may substitute a non-dairy milk such as rice or almond, warmed and with the ojas-building foods and herbs cooked in. Though you won’t get the benefits of the milk peptides, you’ll have a vehicle for the ojas-building foods and herbs, and some calming benefits from the warmth of the milk.

For best results, both men and women may consider supplementing with shatavari and ashwagandha (500mg of each three time per day for three months).

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About
Dr. John Douillard

Dr. John Douillard, DC, CAP is a globally recognized leader in the fields of natural health, Ayurveda and sports medicine. Over the past 30 years, he’s helped over 100,000 patients repair their digestive system and eat wheat and dairy again. He is the creator of LifeSpa.com, a leading Ayurvedic health and wellness resource on the web with over 4.5 million views on YouTube. Receive his valuable health reports in your inbox - sign up for free! LifeSpa.com is evolving the way Ayurveda is understood around the world, with over 700 articles and videos proving ancient wisdom backed by modern science. Dr. John is the former Director of Player Development and nutrition advisor for the New Jersey Nets NBA team, author of six books, a repeat guest on the Dr. Oz show, and has been featured in Woman’s World Magazine, Yoga Journal, the Huffington Post and dozens of other publications.
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For information on Dr. John's newest book, Eat Wheat, please visit eatwheat.lifespa.com, LifeSpa.com and connect with Dr. Douillard on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
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Eat Wheat is available in eBook form now, and will be available in paperback and hardcover on January 10, 2017. It can be pre-ordered from Amazon, eatwheat.lifespa.com and all major booksellers.

Comments

37185528 Responseshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.elephantjournal.com%2F2012%2F07%2Fdrink-this-sleep-like-a-baby%2FDrink+This+%26+Sleep+Like+a+Baby+.2012-07-25+21%3A38%3A30Dr.+John+Douillardhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.elephantjournal.com%2F%3Fp%3D371855 to “Drink This & Sleep Like a Baby .”

To do: get cup of cow puss, white blood cells, lymph fluid, immunoglobulins,…. some proteins…, fat, some water, designed to turn a baby cow into a full-grown cow in a few months. Yum!!! (Of course it will be organic, so I didn't put Vancomycin, growth hormone, etc.).

I'll make it with non-dairy milk but am very anxious to try this protocol. Is the portion of each ingredient PER NIGHT? That's an important distinction. I'm willing to try anything as I have an excellent anti-inflammatory diet but insomnia is still an issue. At 1/2 tsp saffron per night – that could get pretty pricey. Thanks for any clarification you can provide!

Many thanks for this. I've found this mix to be delicious and really helpful.
I also add some turmeric and black pepper for good measure.
I'd like some clarification on quantities as well please. I didn't read it properly at first and was adding all the above ingredients for a mug of milk! Obviously wrong!
So now I've made a batch of the dry ingerients and will add the honey and ghee when I heat it up.
How much is a' small amount' of each of the ingredients? A teaspoonof the mix per mug? Desert spoon? Table spoon?
Thanks

I'm all for trying Auryveda remedies, but dairy? Come on! At this point, with the research I've done and what's been pointed out to me, the adverse effects of dairy FAR outweigh the benefits (even sleep!). Casein alone is enough to stay away.

I am all for eating and drinking the way you want and the foods you want, we are hear for a short time we might as well enjoy the way we would like and the ways that work for each of us individually, physically, spiritually and emotionally. I don't think eating fast food everyday or taking a bite out of your best friend (unless it's good, naughty fun 😉 ) are good things and I don't promote them but the hateful tone in some of these comments makes me very sad for the world. This article is only offering some help and advice. If you're a vegan or you are lactose intolerant, physically and/or emotionally, that is your path and that is awesome. If you feel that your path is to potentially help guide people to follow a more health conscious path, that is great, but it would be nice if you would do so more gently. Educate, don't berate. I honestly think that if a person is at the point of their lives where they are fixing themselves a cup of warm milk, they are fully capable of taking their own path and those decisions should be respected… you may not agree, but it's not your path, so don't take it… just allow yourself to disagree, respect it's existence, glean from it all the knowledge and wisdom you can and move on. Dwelling on disagreements churns up strong emotions and anger which leads to insomnia and all of it's unfriendly goonies that tag along. Be happy to live in such a deeply diverse world, so much so that it is down to our food choices. If we all followed the same paths in our lives it would be so boring, so emotionless, colorless… so ugly to be alive. Our immense diverseness could be the one thing that makes us whole, the one thing to bring us all together. It would be so beautiful to be able to come together and allow ourselves to celebrate our differences because of how much we could learn and appreciate about one another. But instead we use our diversity to exclude and hold deep hatred and disgust for one another, when for the most part, the majority of the decisions we make in our individual lives and paths have very little to no effect on the lives and paths of others. Live and let live.

I wonder if people writing all those bitter self-righteous comments realize that they're just driving away non vegan open minded people with their attitude.
Genuine question, have you aver managed to "convert" anyone with your proselytism?!?
There are better ways than that to get your point across, you're not doing your cause any favors.
I find it very annoying and actually forces me to stop reading the comments page that I would otherwise read with interest and even check for updates.

You know the saying that you are more likely to catch flies with honey instead of vinegar (factually incorrect, but I digress)? Be kind to meat eaters. Many of them are not aware of the horrors of the slaughterhouse industry, and gentle education is much more likely to sway them than berating them.
I am a vegetarian, not vegan. I truthfully love cheese, however, I don't eat meat, I buy exclusively cruelty free products, and I spend time working with our local animal shelter helping homeless pets get adopted. Am I really such a horrible person for enjoying cheese in this short life we live, or can we just do the most that we can to make a difference? I made it a point when I converted that I would talk down to omnivores, and I'm in fact married to an omnivore. My husband originally was a meat lover who ate meat at almost every meal, and after showing him some of the reasons why I chose to abstain from meat, he has been disgusted with the way our world treats animals, and cuts his consumption to only a couple of times per week. He also makes an effort to buy from local farmers. It's a slow change, but be respectful of everyone, because you don't know the basis of their decision.

Sorry to burst the bubble of the ignorant/uninformed – but cows milk in Canada is free of hormones and antibiotics. It's actually illegal and just poor health /herd management. If a cow requires tratment with antibiotics, that cow is pulled from the milking herd so she can be treated and to keep contaminated milk out of the supply. What animal rights zealots forget to recognize is that animals suffer from illness too, to not treat them with something as safe, and proven as antibiotics would be cruel and inhumane. Lactation hormones are not needed as selective breeding have naturally given us high producing animals. Over stimulation actually causes the cow to have a shorter production life, not a longer one. We are strong animal welfare advocates and our girls receive the best feed/pasture, health care and waterbed matting. Our cows routinely are with us into their teens, which is usually 10 ears longer than a beef cow is. We love our girls, but it's too bad vegans out their are so closed minded that they believe that their way is the only way. Oh, and for those people like myself who are lactose intolerant – lactose free milk is available at almosts every grocery store in north america. It does cost a bit more, but lactose is actually what shortens the shelf life of regular milk, so laccose free milk can easily and safely last up to 5 weeks if you're not a big consumer. Enjoy your milk, love from me and my girls!